UK Plastics Pact aims to transform plastics industry by 2025

A new wide-ranging UK Plastics Pact has been launched today (26 April), which will see a range of businesses from across industry commit to eliminating ‘unnecessary’ single-use plastic packaging by 2025.

Launched today by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who announced the plans back in January, the Pact aims to spur collaboration throughout the entire UK plastics value chain, working with government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to transform the plastic packaging system in the UK and keep plastic in the economy and out of the ocean.

So far 42 businesses have signed up to the Pact, including major food, drink and non-food brands, manufacturers and retailers, such as Sainsburyâs, Tesco and Coca-Cola European Partners, right through to plastic reprocessors and packaging suppliers. These members are responsible for over 80 per cent of the plastic packaging on products sold in UK supermarkets. An additional 16 other organisations, including the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA), the ESA, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), have also shown their commitment to the Pact.

Members are committed to achieving the following by 2025:

– Eliminating problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models (such as reuse)
– 100 per cent of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable
– 70 per cent of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted
– 30 per cent average recycled content across all plastic packaging